


Somewhere Between the Dim and the Dark

by coreopsis



Series: cyborg au [4]
Category: Alkaline Trio (Band), Bandom, Bob Bryar fandom
Genre: AU, First Time, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, RPS - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-10-03
Updated: 2010-10-03
Packaged: 2017-10-12 09:55:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/123619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coreopsis/pseuds/coreopsis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hurt/Comfort. Takes place right after A System of Systems. Written for the kiss bingo square: other: while talking</p>
            </blockquote>





	Somewhere Between the Dim and the Dark

**Author's Note:**

> Warning: Implications of children being harmed. I keep it vague, but still. Bob is traumatized by it, so if you think that will upset you, skip this one.

Bob turned up on Matt's doorstep just a little after three in the morning, so pale his face nearly glowed like a beacon under the porch light. There were streaks and splatters of blood on his clothes and he still had his gun clutched tight in his fist. Matt blinked at him and immediately stepped back and motioned him inside his house. "What happened? Are you all right? Should I call Derek and have him bring his medical supplies?"

"No," Bob said as he walked inside and then stopped in the middle of the floor. He glanced down at his clothes and said, "It's not mine."

"Brian?" Matt took Bob's arm and steered him toward the couch, making him sit down before he fell on his face.

"No, he's okay. We went on a raid." Bob looked down at where Matt was trying to loosen his grip on the gun. "I can't--I can't let go."

"It's okay." Matt stroked Bob's hand gently and kept his voice low and soothing. "We'll just work it loose one finger at a time."

Bob shuddered and didn't fight it when Matt finally drew the gun away, made sure the safety was on, and laid it on the coffee table. Matt put his own hand in Bob's bio hand and didn't even flinch when Bob gripped it painfully tight. It didn't hurt much in the grand scheme of things. If it had been his mech hand, every bone in Matt's fingers would be crushed. Bob cleared his throat, but still sounded wrecked when he said, "It was just supposed to be planning tonight. An hour, maybe two, then I could come over to see you. Guess I came anyway, huh? Sorry it's so late."

"Don't be. I was up anyway and you're always welcome." Matt raised Bob's hand to his mouth and rubbed his lips over Bob's knuckles in what he hoped was a soothing gesture. "Do you want to tell me what happened? Or do you want to just sit here quietly? Or I could get you something to drink?"

"Got any vodka?" Bob plucked at his jacket and frowned. "And maybe a clean shirt I could borrow?"

"Yeah, of course." Matt gently extracted his hand from Bob's and went to the kitchen to grab a couple glasses and a bottle. It wasn't the good stuff, but it was almost full and Bob looked like a man who'd prize quantity over quality at the moment. Matt took it back to the living room and poured Bob a generous serving, before going to his bedroom and finding a soft old hoodie for him to wear.

When he got back to the living room, Bob had stripped off his jacket and shirt and thrown them across the room. He noticed Matt looking at the sad little heap on the floor and said, "I couldn't...the smell. Sorry."

Matt didn't even bother telling him not to apologize this time, just walked over and helped Bob put the hoodie on. Once he was covered, Bob settled down on the couch and leaned his head against the back. "Pete and Patrick showed up at Brian's place. The feds had gotten Andy, so we raided the lab to get him back before they fucked him up too bad."

Matt refilled Bob's glass and poured a healthy measure into his own. After Bob tossed it back, he closed his eyes. "They had kids in there, entire families. Refugees from the West Coast, I think."

"Oh, God," Matt said faintly and took a deep gulp of his drink. "Were they all..." He couldn't even finish. He'd seen the aftermath of some of the experiments before. That's why he did what he did now, helped anyone he could.

"No, not all of them." Bob opened his eyes and let out a shaky breath. "We got them out. Most of them. They're on their way out of town right now."

"Andy?"

"Got him too. He'll have scar where they tried to implant the tracker, but he'll just get a new tattoo to cover it and go on about his business of stirring shit up. Joe's taking him out east to stay with friends for a while, just in case anyone comes looking for him. Vicky-T will keep the paper going until Andy gets back."

That was worrying, so Matt slid a hand over Bob's and asked, "Is anyone going to come looking for you?"

"No," Bob said quickly, turning to face Matt and look him in the eyes for the first time since he got there. "I wouldn't put you in danger. I covered my tracks and Brian has airtight alibis lined up for both of us."

"That sounds good. Yeah, that's good." Matt gave Bob's hand a squeeze and wondered just how long they could all keep this up before getting caught. Andy was really vocal in his disdain for the government and its treatment of cyborgs, but it could have been any of them. They were all skirting or outright breaking the law, and doing it for righteous reasons wouldn't keep them out of prison or worse. He shuddered to think of just how bad "worse" could be. He couldn't help finding it darkly amusing that fear was a motivation for both sides.

He shook himself out of his thoughts and smiled softly at Bob. "You look beyond exhausted. Why don't you come to bed and get some sleep and in the morning...I don't know. We'll fucking deal with it."

"So, standard operating procedure," Bob said and sighed deeply, like he'd been storing it up all night. "I'm getting really tired of dealing all the time."

"I know." Matt tugged him to his feet and caught him up in a hug. He kissed Bob on the cheek and whispered, "Come on. Let me do it for you. Just for a little while."

Bob hung onto him for a long moment before nodding against his shoulder and then letting go.

***

 

Matt woke up sometime around dawn when Bob cried out and kicked him in the back of the leg. He rolled over and threw an arm over Bob's chest, patting him clumsily and saying, "Shhh, you're okay, it's just a nightmare."

Bob mumbled something unintelligible, latched onto Matt's hand, and rolled onto his side, dragging Matt along until he was spooned up against Bob's back. Matt lay awake for a while until Bob's breathing evened out and he stopped twitching, and then he drifted off into a string of disturbing dreams as his imagination filled in all the details that Bob had left out earlier.

The next time he woke up was a few hours later when Bob suddenly jerked in his arms and sat up abruptly. He looked around the daylight dimness of Matt's bedroom then down at Matt and said, "Oh. Hey. You're here."

"Yeah. I'm here. What time is it?" Matt sat up, rubbing his eyes and blinking. He started to snag his glasses off the bedside table so he could see the clock, but Bob distracted him by reaching out and wrapping his fingers around the back of Matt's neck.

Matt opened his mouth, but Bob answered his unspoken question by leaning in and kissing him. It was kind of trembly and tentative, like Bob was unsure of his welcome, but Matt kissed him back and wrapped his arms around him.

Matt showed Bob with lips and tongue and teeth and hands that he was very welcome, always wanted, maybe even loved. Actually, there was no maybe about it. Matt realized that he'd started falling in love with Bob the day he rolled into the shop, nervous and scared but so determinedly trying not to show it, and said, "All right, I'm putting myself in your hands. Let's do this."

Getting to know Bob over the last almost-a-year had only made him fall deeper. He'd just been waiting for Bob to catch up and be in the right headspace to deal with a romantic relationship with anyone at all, let alone one of the men who had taken him to the next level. When Bob had showed up on his doorstep completely wrecked last night, Matt had been willing to keep waiting, but Bob seemed to be ready to move forward this morning. Matt couldn't deny him anything, but he did have to be certain.

He pulled his mouth away just far enough to say, "Bob. Bob, hold up. Are you sure you're ready for this?"

"Yeah, I'm ready. I want you...do you not--I thought we had--"

Matt groaned and kissed Bob even though he kept trying to talk. That just made his lips move in interesting ways. Matt pulled back and Bob said, "--I mean, the way you--and there were signals, definitely a vibe--"

Matt leaned in and caught Bob's bottom lip between his teeth and Bob finally stopped babbling. Matt licked the indentations left by his teeth and cradled Bob's face in his hands. "Bob, listen to me. Hell yeah, I want you. You're the bravest man I know--"

"What? I'm not brave," Bob interrupted, with wide shocked eyes. "That shit out there scares the hell out of me."

Matt leaned his forehead against Bob's and sighed. "Yeah, but you go out and fight anyway, so that's pretty fucking brave. But that's beside the point. I know you haven't been with anyone since--"

"It's that obvious?"

"Only to someone who has a vested interest in whether you're getting laid or not. Just to be sure, I asked Brian if you were taken. He told me to mind my own damn business." Matt wobbled Bob's head back and forth and scrunched up his own face, trying to make Bob laugh. "I decided to be contrary and take that as a no."

Bob didn't laugh but his lips twitched into that tiny little smile that always made Matt want to do naughty things to him. Matt groaned and gave in. "All right. Just take it at your own pace. Promise?"

"Promise," Bob said, his smile growing just a little wider. He lay back on the bed and pulled Matt down with him, catching his mouth in another kiss, this one much more confident. Matt sank into it and let Bob take them both wherever he wanted to go.

Bob seemed content to just hold Matt close and kiss him, lazy and sweet. He teased Matt's lips with his tongue and made an approving sound in the back of his throat when Matt opened his mouth a little wider and gently nipped at Bob's bottom lip. He rubbed his bio hand slowly up and down Matt's back, like he was memorizing the feel of Matt's skin under his fingers, and shifted his legs apart so that Matt settled down between them, pressing their cocks closer together through the thin cotton of their boxers.

Matt ran his hands over every part of Bob he could reach, and he couldn't help marveling at how well Derek had blended the artificial skin of the mech arm with Bob's natural skin. If he had any regrets, it would be that he and Bob were doing this before Danny had gotten a hold of the sensors that would allow Bob to get more pleasure out of touching with that hand and being touched.

From the way Bob was pressing his hips up against Matt's and clutching at the back of Matt's neck, he was getting plenty of pleasure out of being close to Matt, so maybe Matt was worrying for nothing. He pulled his mouth away from Bob's and slid over to one side so he could get a hand between their bodies. He shoved Bob's shorts down as far as he could until Bob took over, and then he worked his own off, kicking them to the foot of the bed to get lost in the tangle of covers.

When they were completely naked and Matt was running his hand up the outside of Bob's thigh, Bob said, "Is it...it's not too weird?"

Shaking his head, Matt rubbed his fingers over the invisible seam where natural skin met artificial and then flattened his hand over Bob's hip. He snagged Bob's mech hand and brought it up to his mouth. Bob would only be able to feel warmth and pressure, but that didn't stop Matt from taking one of Bob's fingers between his lips, sucking it between his teeth and licking it. It was harder than a biological hand and smoother, but that didn't matter because it was still a part of Bob.

Bob watched Matt intently, worrying at his bottom lip with his teeth. Matt smiled and let Bob's finger slip from his mouth. "Not weird."

"Do you...have you done this with a lot of your, um, clients?"

"No, just you," Matt said, brushing his lips over Bob's between every word. As he deepened his kisses, he curled his fingers around Bob's erection and slid them loosely up and down a couple times, teasing while he stretched his other arm out and snagged a small bottle off the bedside table.

Bob took it and snapped open the cap, pouring a pool of silicon lube into Matt's hand. He closed the bottle and tossed it to the side and dipped his fingers into Matt's palm, slicking them up before taking Matt's cock in hand. Matt switched hands so that he could jack Bob off, fast and slippery, trying to match Bob's rhythm and trying not to get so caught up in how good Bob's hand felt on his cock that he forgot what he was doing.

When Bob's hand stuttered and slowed and his breath caught in his chest, Matt drew his gaze away from his hand on Bob's cock and watched Bob's face as he came. Bob's open, almost surprised, expression was one of the hottest things Matt had ever seen, and it made Matt want to kiss him and tell him how special he was. But all he could do was gasp as Bob's grip tightened and then he was coming. His eyes were locked on Bob's and it was too intimate. He felt too exposed, like Bob could read every stupid, sappy thought in his head.

Closing his eyes, Matt ducked his head and rested his face on Bob's shoulder as he got his breath back and shoved his sudden discomfort away. It wasn't about him right now. It was about Bob and making him feel, not better, but _human_ , to show him that there was more to life than the darkness and misery. There was still some joy and pleasure and affection left in the world and Bob could have that.

"Matt? You okay?" Bob asked quietly, bringing both arms around Matt and hugging him close.

"Yeah, I'm good," Matt mumbled against Bob's skin and then raised his head. "You know that's the same lube I use on your joints?"

Bob laughed quietly. "You know what? I'm not even surprised. Does it come in cherry flavor?"

Matt grinned because Bob actually laughed and he'd worried Bob was never going to do that again. "It does, but I like the blue raspberry better. It turns your tongue purple."

"Sounds fun." Bob didn't laugh again, but he looked like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders, however briefly.

"Oh, it is. I'll show you some time." Matt licked a wet stripe up the side of Bob's neck and blew lightly in his ear. When Bob shivered and squeezed him tighter, Matt just buried his nose in Bob's hair and laughed.


End file.
